Career and Education Opportunities for License Clerks in San Francisco, California

Many educational and employment opportunities exist for license clerks in the San Francisco, California area. Currently, 5,100 people work as license clerks in California. This is expected to grow by 20% to 6,100 people by 2016. This is better than the nation as a whole, where employment opportunities for license clerks are expected to grow by about 8.2%. License clerks generally issue licenses or permits to qualified applicants.

A person working as a license clerk can expect to earn about $21 hourly or $43,730 annually on average in California and about $15 per hour or $33,200 per year on average in the U.S. as a whole. Compared with people working in the overall category of Clerical, people working as license clerks in California earn more. They earn more than people working in the overall category of Clerical nationally.

There are eighty-six schools of higher education in the San Francisco area, including four within twenty-five miles of San Francisco where you can get a degree to start your career as a license clerk. The most common level of education for license clerks is a high school diploma or GED. It will take only a short time to learn to be a license clerk if you already have a high school diploma.

CAREER DESCRIPTION: License Clerk

License clerks answer questions and furnish advice to the public regarding licensing policies and regulations. They also evaluate data on applications to confirm completeness and accuracy and to establish whether applicants are qualified to obtain desired licenses. Equally important, license clerks have to perform routine data entry and other office support efforts and filing documents. Finally, license clerks code data on license applications for entry into computers.

Every day, license clerks are expected to be able to articulate ideas and problems. They need to listen to and understand others in meetings. It is also important that they read and understand documents and reports.

It is important for license clerks to inform customers by mail or telephone of additional steps they need to take to obtain licenses. They are often called upon to question applicants to obtain required data, such as name and age, and record data on prescribed forms. They also collect prescribed fees for licenses. They are sometimes expected to update operational archives and licensing data, using computer terminals. Somewhat less frequently, license clerks are also expected to perform record checks on past and current licensees, as required by investigations.

and assemble photographs with printed license data to produce completed documents. And finally, they sometimes have to conduct and score oral, visual or performance tests to establish applicant qualifications and notify applicants of their scores.

Like many other jobs, license clerks must have strong self control in the face of challenging situations and be thorough and dependable.

Correspondence Clerk. Compose letters in reply to requests for merchandise, damage claims, credit and other information, delinquent accounts, or unsatisfactory services. Duties may include gathering data to formulate reply and typing correspondence.

Courtroom Clerk. Perform clerical duties in court of law; prepare docket of cases to be called; secure information for judges; and contact witnesses, attorneys, and litigants to obtain information for court.

Customer Care Specialist. Interact with customers to provide information in response to inquiries about products and services and to handle and resolve complaints.

File Clerk. File correspondence, cards, and other records in alphabetical or numerical order or according to the filing system used. Locate and remove material from file when requested.

Insurance Processing Clerk. Process applications for, changes to, and cancellation of insurance policies. Duties include reviewing insurance applications to ensure that all questions have been answered, compiling data on insurance policy changes, changing policy records to conform to insured party's specifications, compiling data on lapsed insurance policies to determine automatic reinstatement according to company policies, canceling insurance policies as requested by agents, and verifying the accuracy of insurance company records.

Library Clerk. Compile records, sort and shelve books, and issue and receive library materials such as pictures, cards, slides and microfilm. Locate library materials for loan and replace material in shelving area, stacks, or files according to identification number and title. Register patrons to permit them to borrow books, periodicals, and other library materials.

Municipal Clerk. Draft agendas and bylaws for town or city council; record minutes of council meetings; answer official correspondence; keep fiscal records and accounts; and prepare reports on civic needs.

Office Clerk. Perform duties too varied and diverse to be classified in any specific office clerical occupation, requiring limited knowledge of office management systems and procedures. Clerical duties may be assigned in accordance with the office procedures of individual establishments and may include a combination of answering telephones, bookkeeping, typing or word processing, stenography, office machine operation, and filing.

Order Clerk. Receive and process incoming orders for materials, merchandise, or services such as repairs, installations, or rental of facilities. Duties include informing customers of receipt, prices, and delays; preparing contracts; and handling complaints.

Payroll Bookkeeper. Compile and post employee time and payroll data. May compute employees' time worked, production, and commission. May compute and post wages and deductions. May prepare paychecks.

Postal Clerk. Perform any combination of tasks in a post office, such as receive letters and parcels; sell postage and revenue stamps, postal cards, and stamped envelopes; fill out and sell money orders; place mail in pigeon holes of mail rack or in bags according to State, address, or other scheme; and examine mail for correct postage.

Procurement Clerk. Compile information and records to draw up purchase orders for procurement of materials and services.

Receptionist. Answer inquiries and obtain information for general public, customers, and other interested parties. Provide information regarding activities conducted at establishment; location of departments, offices, and employees within organization.

Statistical Clerk. Compile and compute data according to statistical formulas for use in statistical studies. May perform actuarial computations and compile charts and graphs for use by actuaries. Includes actuarial clerks.

Weighter. Weigh, measure, and check materials, supplies, and equipment for the purpose of keeping relevant records. Duties are primarily clerical by nature.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES: License Clerk Training

Mt Diablo Adult Education - Concord, CA

Mt Diablo Adult Education, 1266 San Carlos, Concord, CA 94518. Mt Diablo Adult Education is a small school located in Concord, California. It is a public school with primarily less-than 2-year programs and has 513 students. Mt Diablo Adult Education has a less than one year program in General Office Occupations and Clerical Services which graduated seventy-seven students in 2008.

Martinez Adult Education - Martinez, CA

Martinez Adult Education, 600 F St, Martinez, CA 94553-3298. Martinez Adult Education is a small school located in Martinez, California. It is a public school with primarily less-than 2-year programs and has 565 students. Martinez Adult Education has a one to two year program in General Office Occupations and Clerical Services which graduated six students in 2008.

English Center for International Women - Oakland, CA

English Center for International Women, 66 Franklin Street, Suite 300, Oakland, CA 94607. English Center for International Women is a small school located in Oakland, California. It is a private not-for-profit school with primarily less-than 2-year programs. It has 85 students and an admission rate of 83%. English Center for International Women has a less than one year program in General Office Occupations and Clerical Services which graduated seventy-eight students in 2008.

Heald College-Concord - Concord, CA

Heald College-Concord, 5130 Commercial Circle, Concord, CA 94520-0522. Heald College-Concord is a small college located in Concord, California. It is a private for-profit school with primarily 2-year programs and has 1,107 students. Heald College-Concord has a less than one year program in General Office Occupations and Clerical Services.

LOCATION INFORMATION: San Francisco, California

San Francisco, California photo by Optigan13

San Francisco is located in San Francisco County, California. It has a population of over 808,976, which has grown by 4.2% in the past ten years. The cost of living index in San Francisco, 180, is far greater than the national average. New single-family homes in San Francisco cost $218,300 on average, which is far less than the state average. In 2008, fifty-seven new homes were built in San Francisco, up from fifty-five the previous year.

The three most popular industries for women in San Francisco are professional, scientific, and technical services, health care, and educational services. For men, it is professional, scientific, and technical services, accommodation and food services, and construction. The average travel time to work is about 31 minutes. More than 45.0% of San Francisco residents have a bachelor's degree, which is higher than the state average. The percentage of residents with a graduate degree, 16.4%, is higher than the state average.

The percentage of San Francisco residents that are affiliated with a religious congregation, 41.8%, is less than both the national and state average. Gold Mountain Monastery, Golden Gate Community Church of the Nazarene and Golden Gate Lutheran Church are among the churches located in San Francisco. The most common religious groups are the Catholic Church, the Muslim Estimate and the United Methodist Church.

San Francisco is home to the Pier 88 and the Prayer Book Cross as well as Helen Wills Playground and Music Concourse. Shopping malls in the area include Yerba Buena Square Shopping Center, Fox Plaza Shopping Center and Galleria At Crocker Center Shopping Center. Visitors to San Francisco can choose from Astoria Hotel, A-1 Inn Motel and Best Western Canterbury Hotel for temporary stays in the area.